If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

The New Driver Is Out! Meet Oktoberfest!

09-05-2007, 01:18 AM

The New Driver Is Out! Meet Oktoberfest!

AMD 8.41 Display Driver Preview -- Our first article on this new driver are simply the technical details such as noting this driver has been actually in development for over a year, the AIGLX support that is coming next month, and other relevant information.

ATI R300/400 Linux Performance -- We re-tested the Radeon X300 and X800XL with this new driver and it offers some HUGE performance improvements! The Mobility Radeon X300 was as much as 54 times faster compared to the previous ATI Linux driver. The improvements in these older ATI GPUs are simply astonishing.

ATI R500 Linux Performance -- With an X1300PRO, X1800XL, X1800XT, and X1950PRO in hand we compared the ATI 8.40 and 8.41 display drivers. The performance improvements for the Radeon X1000 series range from 50% to 90% faster.

ATI Radeon HD 2900XT Linux Performance -- Four months after the Radeon HD 2900XT was introduced there is finally proper Linux support! Not only is there support, but it offers a pretty darn good level of performance. In fact, the ATI Radeon HD 2900XT offers the best bang for the buck when it comes to high-end graphics cards. There is also more on the R600 support in general inside this article.

AMD: Accelerating Open-Source Drivers? -- Not today, but in the near future AMD will be making an announcement about accelerating efforts within the open-source community. What does this mean? Open-Source ATI Drivers? We will tell you in due time.

Comment

If there are any test requests or other information you would like to know before the driver actually is downloadable, let me know.

(Emphasis added)

Does it blend?

The main question I have is where will AMD go from here. I'm assuming that over the next few months they'll roll out AIGLX (next month), and continue to tweak performance on some of the older cards, do maintenance on the new driver... but does 8.41 mark AMD 'caught up' to linux and able to do more in the future in terms of keeping up with kernel releases and X.org releases?

And the best answer to that I can hope for may be contained in "...what AMD will be sharing in the near future with this announcement..."

Comment

Now let's all hope ATI will continue developing this new driver Perhaps I'll buy an ATI next year to replace my 7800GT.
One thing is bugging me though. No word about using the videoplayback acceleration for ATI cards. Someone has a clue?